‘He won’t phone but he’ll stand on top of Tottenham’s stadium and tell us’: Gareth Southgate bites back at Jose Mourinho’s plea for England to rest Harry Kane – and says Spurs must ‘look after him’
- Jose Mourinho has been locked in a war of words with England boss Southgate
- Southgate has publicly responded to Mourinho’s plea for players to be rested
- Last season Tottenham were badly hit by injured at a crucial part of the season
- Talisman Harry Kane was out for a lengthy period and left Spurs short up front
Gareth Southgate has hit back at Jose Mourinho‘s recent comments regarding the need to rest key players during the international break, ahead of a frantic Premier League campaign.
Last season Tottenham were badly hit by injuries at a key part in the campaign, and were left without talisman Harry Kane for the latter stages of the run-in.
Now Mourinho has aimed jibes in the direction of the England team regarding the treatment of Kane ahead of a busy run of fixtures for the Three Lions, though Southgate has taken the thinly veiled criticism in his stride.
Gareth Southgate has bit back on the recent criticisms aimed at him by Jose Mourinho
Mourinho made sure to make his opinion known regarding captain Harry Kane’s fitness
Speaking during a press conference on Thursday, Southgate responded: ‘All Jose needs to do in April and May is he’s got to look after Harry Kane for us because there will be 55 million people relying on that.
‘Jose was on great form, I heard him. He won’t phone but he will stand on the top of Tottenham’s stadium and tell us, so that was good.
‘I’m upset I am not one of his friends I know Steve (Holland) is but in fairness he helped him to a title so that’s understandable’, Southgate added with a smile.
‘We’re certainly not looking to start players in three games.
‘I can’t guarantee that no player will play no minutes of all three games. You might end up having to put someone on for five minutes and then people will be saying “well you didn’t do what you said.”‘
‘But our aim is to manage the squad, we’ve got to be responsible we’re conscious of the wellfare of the players. This season as a whole is a huge challenge for clubs and national teams so we’ve got to work together on that.
‘It doesn’t help anybody if we’re not joined up on our thinking.’
More to follow